Overview
- German artist Jacques Tilly, tried in absentia, was sentenced on Thursday to eight years and six months in a penal colony, fined 200,000 roubles, and banned from running websites for four years.
- Tilly was convicted of spreading false information about the Russian military and of insulting religious feelings under laws used to police speech about the war and faith.
- Prosecutors centered the case on a 2024 Düsseldorf carnival float that depicted Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill in a sexual act, with an expert testifying the figures were “undoubtedly” them.
- Reporting by SOTAvision said prosecutors read identical statements from three absent witnesses who claimed outrage, highlighting a process that leaned on written testimony and expert identification.
- Tilly, based in Germany, called the proceedings a propaganda trial and said he will keep working, noting the sentence is not enforceable unless he enters a country that would act on Russia’s judgment.